We Would Love
to Keep in Touch!
Meet Bro. Noël Commandeur, M.S.
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| Bro. Noël Commandeur, M.S. |
Fr. Bob Susann, M.S., Airport Chaplain
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| Fr. Bob Susann, M.S., Chaplain, Orlando International Airport |
ORLANDO – At the Orlando International Airport, kindness can be as easy as pressing a button. Stressed and apprehensive about making their flight and going through security, passengers will press the buttons in the elevator four or five times.
If Father Robert Susann sees that a traveler is nervous or scared on his way in from the parking lot, he'll simply ask where they're going, and press the button for them. Those small kindnesses – making it easier for people to fly and just being there when he's needed – are at the center of Father Susann's ministry as an airport chaplain, he said.
Before he came to the airport, Father Susann studied at Rome's Gregorian University; ran a La Salette Shrine in Ipswich, MA.; directed the La Salette order's junior college; and was a parish pastor for 12 years in Marietta, GA., where he was also active with Life Teen.
Growing up in upstate New York, Father Susann knew he wanted to be a priest during his senior year in high school. After a vocations retreat, he knew he “wanted to make a difference in the world. As I developed and discerned,” he said, “I realized there was a lot of missionary work to be done here at home.”
Meet Fr. Cyriac C. Mattathilanickal, M.S.
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| Fr. Cyriac has just received his American citizenship in Boston on May 26, 2011 |
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in South India in Mattathipara, in the state of Karala on Sept. 10, 1967. My father, Joseph Chandy Mattathilanickal, was a native farmer, and my mother, Mariam Ezhuthanavayalil, is a fulltime housewife. My father and mother raised twelve children of which I am the second youngest. All my siblings went to nearby schools and have pursued extensive education. I have 18 nephews and nieces. I also have a brother who is a diocesan priest in the Diocese of Norwich, CT. and a sister who is a Religious Sister of the Congregation of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament who lives in India. By the way, I became a citizen of the U.S. on May 26, 2011 and I am very happy about it!
How did you first hear about La Salette?
One of my many cousins is a La Salette priest, Fr. Jose Kuzhinjalil, M.S. After I completed my college, he spoke to me about the La Salette Missionaries and their ministry. I was somehow drawn to this Marian Congregation and their Charism of Reconciliation. I had reached a turning-point in my life and needed to reconcile within myself the persistent desire to pursue my vocation to the priesthood which I had felt ever since I was a teenager.
Meet Fr. Nicodemus Aye, M.S.
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| During the baptism of his mother: (right to left) Fr. Nicodemus; his mother’s best friend; his mother, Susanna; a friend |
Where were you born and raised?
My name is Fr. Nicodemus (Aung Than) Aye, M.S. I was born on Nov. 28, 1974 in Loiykaw, Kayah State, in the southeastern part of Myanmar (Burma), near the border of Thailand. My father, Pasquale (Min Lwin), and my mother, Susanna (Own Kyi), led our family of six children, of whom I am the third oldest. Both my parents were farmers, harvesting rice. Of course we all took part in the tasks of the farm as we grew up. Presently my parents are in their 60’s and still work hard.
How did you first hear about La Salette?
After my high school graduation, I applied for our diocesan seminary. Our bishop, since he had many priests in our state, often sent seminarians to one of many religious orders to serve the church. He introduced me to Fr. Bernie Taylor, M.S., a native La Salette. I was just beginning my studies and I readily accepted my bishop’s suggestion to speak with Fr. Bernie since I was willing to be a priest and serve anywhere.
Meet Fr. Marcel Schlewer, M.S.
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| Fr. Marcel Schlewer, M.S. |
What is your family background?
My ancestors are Alsatians. My father was the seventh of fourteen children of a Lutheran family. He is a native of Strasbourg. While out of work after apprenticing as a wheelright, he joined the army and entered military service in the Algerian Sahara, in a dromedary squad. My mother came from a Catholic family from a rural area, 18 miles west of Strasbourg.
My parents met at Colomb-Bechar in the Sahara where my mother was visiting her sister who was married to an Algerian. Thereupon I was born in Africa, in the Sahara, where I was baptized. My parents returned to Alsace a month after my birth. But the war caught up with us in 1940. We had to settle near Grenoble. My father joined the French Resistance in the underground forces at Vercors. That is how I came to grow up in Sassenage, northwest of Grenoble, with my five brothers and sisters where I went to primary school and received my religious education.
Meet Sr. Elizabeth Guiboux, SNDS
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| Sr. Elizabeth Guiboux, SNDS, Superior General |
Sister Elisabeth Guiboux, SNDS, made her first profession as a Sister of Our Lady of La Salette (SNDS) in 1991 and made her perpetual profession in 1997. She was elected Superior General on May 1, 2010.
Please describe your early life, your family and your faith.
I was born in Dijon, France, on January 3,1958 into a working-class family. I am the second of five children. Despite our very limited home situation, all my siblings play musical instruments. Music is also very important to me. Our family are traditional, active Catholics, a milieu which helped my own faith to grow. I have been a teacher. I also play several instruments, including the guitar, the zither, and the piano.
Certain events in my personal life have helped me grow in my awareness of the presence of God. A local religious helped my self-confidence and opened me to God’s loving, dynamic and transforming love. From then on, there was no other way for me to respond to God’s love except by giving my love, my entire life. God’s love has truly changed my life.
How did you first hear about Our Lady of La Salette and the spirituality of her message?
La Salette Sisters
The Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette share the charism of reconciliation with the La Salette Priests and Brothers. Like the Farthers and Brothers, they share their charism in collaboration with lay people.
The roots of their community of sisters began with Miss Henriette Deluy-Fabry who was born in Marseille in 1828. After a series of pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, she decided to become a religious of La Salette by founding a new congregation inspired by the triple spirit of sacrifice, of the apostolate and of prayer.
She was encouraged by Pius the IX in 1866. On December 20, 1872, the first seven religious “Reparatrice” (in English “Amenders”), went up to the Shrine. Soon they accompanied the Missionaries of La Salette into Belgium and Poland. They were given, in the Grenoble area, the management of a house for the handicapped, the responsibility and care of an Adoration Chapel, and a dispensary.
Meet Fr. Dick Delisle, M.S.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Cohoes, NY on March 15, 1931. My dad, Armand, was an electrician, and my Mother, Anna, was a homemaker. I am the oldest of four children – one sister and two brothers. I was very involved in our parish as a server and as member of our parish youth group.
How did you first hear about La Salette?
When I was in Catholic Central High School, freshmen year, a La Salette Mission Preacher, Fr. Henri Lachapelle, preached about the Apparition and vocations, and invited us to enter the seminary in Enfield, NH. I soon entered the Enfield Seminary in September of 1946, the Centennial Year of the Apparition and the following year welcomed Rene Bisaillon, a fellow Cohoes native.
The first thing that impressed me was the priests I met – how welcoming they were, friendly and with a wonderful sense of humor. The pastoral surroundings were uplifting and I felt at home there with the priests, brothers and the students. During those high school years, I met Frs. George Dube, Alphonse Dutil and the many dedicated Missionary brothers who became my lifelong friends and mentors. Our studies were in both English and French and were a challenge but I always felt supported.
Meet Bro. Armand Fredette, M.S.
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| Bro. Armand (right) with fellow La Salettes at a Feastday meal |
How did you come to hear about La Salette?
I’ve known about La Salette early in my life. I was baptized at St. Joseph’s parish in Fitchburg, MA, which was the first parish in the United States to be staffed by the La Salette Missionaries. Born on February 25, 1932, I was the youngest of eight children. I went to elementary school at the local parish and after graduation entered the La Salette Seminary in Enfield, NH. One of my older brothers had already entered.
Having completed the equivalent of high school, I decided to become a Missionary Brother rather than a priest. I made my novitiate, took my first vows in 1950 and was stationed in Enfield, NH. I have been serving in the Philippines for over 50 years of his missionary life and I’m now happily retired.
Did you always want to be a missionary?
In1946 the province accepted a mission in the Philippines. Members were on fire about this new aspect of province ministry and almost everyone wondered if perhaps I would be called to go.
Meet Fr. Jeannot Pierre Rakotonindrainy, M.S.
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| Very Rev. Fr. Jeannot Pierre Rakotonindrainy, M.S., Provincial of the La Salette Missionaries in Madagascar |
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Antsirabe, Madagascar, the second largest city, in the center of my country, situated on a high plateau, 170 kilometers from Antananarivo, our capital. My father’s name was Rapetera. My father was a originally Protestant and his baptismal first name was Peter. When he converted, he changed his baptismal name to a more Malagasy form of that name. My mother, Henriette, was from a solidly Catholic family and was the President of the Legion of Mary in my local parish. I am the oldest of fourteen children. We have ten boys and four girls and, at that time in the countryside, this was quite normal. I have a lifelong love of soccer. I watch lots of games and play whenever I can.
How did you first hear about La Salette?
In the main church in the center of my local district, which was comprised of 25 churches, the young pastor was a La Salette Missionary, Fr. Raphael Rakotonoeliarimanana, M.S. When I was in seventh grade, I volunteered to teach catechism in my local parish. Each month, we all went to the center parish to take classes in teaching. There I met five La Salette Scholastics who came to give us various experiences, including how to teach, giving religious singing classes, etc. One day, as I was listening to one of the La Salettes, I noticed that he had such a nice voice and was so motivated that I just wanted to be like him. He touched my heart and I felt that I would love to be like him, to become a La Salette religious.